Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.13 AVERAGE
4.13 AVERAGE
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I laughed, I cried. It’s a rollicking time with a cast of characters bursting with life. I would like this adapted as a graphic novel series and a tv series, please.
Format note: I did most of this re-read an immersive read. The audio helped a lot with name and place pronunciation. And Natalie Naudus is a dynamic, engaging storyteller— highly recommend. Physical book helped with detail retention.
Format note: I did most of this re-read an immersive read. The audio helped a lot with name and place pronunciation. And Natalie Naudus is a dynamic, engaging storyteller— highly recommend. Physical book helped with detail retention.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
A great fantasy book, mixed with action, humor, emotion. Definitely not a short read, but I great second book in the series. I am looking forward to the third!
Loveable characters:
No
This book was honestly a slog. I don't mind a lull in the action but the first two-thirds of the book felt inert; there was no tension or urgency in anything that was happening. There were political moves being made but with all the POV characters either being too far from the action or uninterested in them, it was difficult to tell what all the meandering of the characters was for. It was also not helped by the introduction of way too many characters and all the characters (including the POV characters!) feeling more like archetypes than people. Any potential depth or nuance to these characters was lost because it only showed up when it was relevant instead of allowing the nuances to fester and slowly build like it should in a more character-driven portion of the story. All the relationships between characters (not just the romantic one but *especially* that one 🙄) felt forced and inconsequential until/unless it needed to matter. The characters also suffered from being vehicles of an Idiot Plot; the amount of times characters go 'why did I do that, I should have known better' was agonizing, especially when it came to characters who ARE supposed to be smarter than that. It made what should have been an explosive, climatic last 20% of the book feel incredibly unearned.
On top of all that, my misgivings from the first book (which I did enjoy) were magnified in this one: there's a weird... peacocking of faux feminism that permeates the whole series. It's a series subverting the Chosen One trope by making all the important characters except the Chosen One women. It's great conceptually but the execution falls ever shorter. All the women being these Strong Hyper Competent Female Characters is exhausting when the only male character of significance is such a loser (which was more endearing in the first book but just annoying in the second). The cheeky 'we have to give women their flowers' moments in this book just gets an eye-roll from me when the female characters just do not have the depth needed to pull this off. I don't know if Chu's character writing is always like this or if it really is just that he's kind of incapable of writing women but this series is simply not hitting the way he meant it to.
Overall, this book felt incredibly underbaked and written for the sake of a being a second book in a trilogy. There's a better version of this book underneath it all, one where the characters and stakes feel more real and led to the ending that we got but as it is... it just feels like the first draft to a far more interesting story.
(Also someone at some point really should have pointed out that sp**k is a racial slur; it made me recoil every time I saw it in the book, good Lord.)
On top of all that, my misgivings from the first book (which I did enjoy) were magnified in this one: there's a weird... peacocking of faux feminism that permeates the whole series. It's a series subverting the Chosen One trope by making all the important characters except the Chosen One women. It's great conceptually but the execution falls ever shorter. All the women being these Strong Hyper Competent Female Characters is exhausting when the only male character of significance is such a loser (which was more endearing in the first book but just annoying in the second). The cheeky 'we have to give women their flowers' moments in this book just gets an eye-roll from me when the female characters just do not have the depth needed to pull this off. I don't know if Chu's character writing is always like this or if it really is just that he's kind of incapable of writing women but this series is simply not hitting the way he meant it to.
Overall, this book felt incredibly underbaked and written for the sake of a being a second book in a trilogy. There's a better version of this book underneath it all, one where the characters and stakes feel more real and led to the ending that we got but as it is... it just feels like the first draft to a far more interesting story.
(Also someone at some point really should have pointed out that sp**k is a racial slur; it made me recoil every time I saw it in the book, good Lord.)
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Liked a lot! I'm trying to steer away from starred ratings as they can be really subjective and many folks have different interpretations of what a star means.
What I liked: more world building from the first book, Taisha's friends!, Kiki's storyline, interconnection of storylines towards the end of the book
Did not like (didn't work for me personally): Sali's story (possibly will be corrected in book 3, we'll have to see), frequent use of the word "spook" to refer to a spy (for more information on why this word is harmful, especially to Black folks, please look up and watch video explainers by @/jesseonyoutube_ on instagram)
What I liked: more world building from the first book, Taisha's friends!, Kiki's storyline, interconnection of storylines towards the end of the book
Did not like (didn't work for me personally): Sali's story (possibly will be corrected in book 3, we'll have to see), frequent use of the word "spook" to refer to a spy (for more information on why this word is harmful, especially to Black folks, please look up and watch video explainers by @/jesseonyoutube_ on instagram)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Alcohol, Colonisation, War
Minor: Death, Death of parent
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
tense
medium-paced
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Finally done with my first book of the year! This took me too long to finish this. I think it was because I feeling a big reading hangover from the absolute tomb that was Wind and Truth, but coming back to this world was very refreshing! The four POVs stay the same from the first book, and they are even better than before. Each character’s voice is distinct and enjoyable. While I think Sali’s plot line was definitely the weakest in the first book, it was definitely not the case in this book. Qisami continues to be the standout and her POV was even better than last book. The martial arts magic was expanded upon. The additions made the combat feel fresh and interesting to watch. My one complaint is that I wish that Jian was more important to the story. While his character was interesting to read, as he still has a lot of developing to do, I was hoping that after the 3 year time skip he’d be more capable. The most notable thing is the 3 year time skip between books 1 and 2. I think I was overestimating the amount of development each character would have in 3 years. The kids do not get good enough to really make a difference in combat, and they’re still making stupid mistakes. Jian and Hampa are the big culprits of this. I was disappointed to see that many of the characters that from the first book were just not present in this book. It really took me awhile to learn all the new characters that were introduced, especially the ones in Jian and Taishi’s group. Overall I’m satisfied with this book 2 and really happy where the book ended. I will be eagerly awaiting the next release of the War Arts saga.
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Wesley Chu’s “The Art of Prophecy” was one of my favorite reads of 2022. It’s phenomenal. I was thrilled to dive back into the world of The War Arts Saga.
Set a few years after the events of the first book, the story shows the main players changed, both physically and emotionally. It’s fascinating to see someone like Maza Quisami express genuine human emotions. You might even expect her to embark on a redemption arc of sorts, but Chu shatters those dreams.
“The Art of Destiny” is emotionally engaging, imaginative, and filled with excellent character arcs. The vivid descriptions of the world and the intense battles between the War Arts Masters are truly spectacular. Some of the fight scenes run for several pages. They're vivid, and kinetic, and made me think of visually stunning fight sequences from kung fu movies (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
On the flip side, I felt that this sequel was a bit too long and contained scenes that contributed little to the overall story. They lengthened it without adding impact. Did it diminish my enjoyment? Absolutely not. It’s still a wonderful and heartfelt tale, featuring larger-than-life characters with strong emotional journeys. Chu has created the world I love returning to, and characters I adore.
I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series!
Set a few years after the events of the first book, the story shows the main players changed, both physically and emotionally. It’s fascinating to see someone like Maza Quisami express genuine human emotions. You might even expect her to embark on a redemption arc of sorts, but Chu shatters those dreams.
“The Art of Destiny” is emotionally engaging, imaginative, and filled with excellent character arcs. The vivid descriptions of the world and the intense battles between the War Arts Masters are truly spectacular. Some of the fight scenes run for several pages. They're vivid, and kinetic, and made me think of visually stunning fight sequences from kung fu movies (think Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon).
On the flip side, I felt that this sequel was a bit too long and contained scenes that contributed little to the overall story. They lengthened it without adding impact. Did it diminish my enjoyment? Absolutely not. It’s still a wonderful and heartfelt tale, featuring larger-than-life characters with strong emotional journeys. Chu has created the world I love returning to, and characters I adore.
I can’t wait to dive into the next book in the series!
4.5 WHAT A SEQUEL, i absolutely loved this book the story just kept getting better, the stakes felt higher and had me even more invested than book 1. the character development was just